Jury duty – CinefestOZ Film Prize jury announced

Ahead of CinefestOZ Film Festival’s impending August 24 opening night, the Festival today is delighted to announce the CinefestOZ Film Prize jury, who will decide on the winner of the Festival’s third annual, and Australia’s greatest, $100,000 Film Prize.

“We are delighted to bring such diverse minds together to spark conversation,” said CinefestOZ Film Festival Chair Helen Shervington. “Our jurors are as unique and multi-faceted as the films they will judge.”

The CinefestOZ Film Prize encourages excellence in Australian filmmaking by providing a $100,000 award to an Australian feature film or feature-length documentary. In 2015, the second annual CinefestOZ Film Prize was won by MIFF@CinefestOZ film Putuparri and the Rainmakers. The documentary, about an Aboriginal man living in Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia who maps out his ancestors’ spiritual connection to the land and his family’s continuing custodianship of it, has since gone on to screen at Film Festivals in Tahiti and Toronto, has made its television debut and recently been nominated by the Film Critics Circle of Australia for Best Documentary.

The festival received unprecedented number of entries for the Prize and four finalists were announced last month. MIFF@CinefestOZ film The Death and Life of Otto Bloom, Girl Asleep, Jasper Jones and Spin Out will contend for the Prize, with the winner being announced at the Festival’s Gala Night on Saturday 27 August.

Each of the four finalists will screen during CinefestOZ, along with an exciting program of other new Australian and French features, short films, documentaries, industry workshops and related events. The Festival program will present over 110 screenings and events, including 5 World Premiers, 14 Australian Premieres and a massive 46 WA Premieres to appreciative audiences over 5 days.

CinefestOZ is supported by the State Government through Tourism WA’s Regional Events Program, which is funded by Royalties for Regions. Rio Tinto is a proud Premium Partner of CinefestOZ. The festival acknowledges its strong partnership with Screenwest, Western Australia’s screen funding and development agency.